NEW LONDON — The New London-Spicer School Board approved the district’s three-year contract with Superintendent Paul Carlson at the regular meeting Monday.

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The contract — which starts July 1, 2014, and is for the 2014-15, 2015-16 and 2016-17 school years — includes 2.5 percent annual increases to Carlson’s current salary of $108,402.

Carlson is in his 12th year as superintendent at New London-Spicer and was high school principal there for six years prior to that. He started his career in education as a teacher and principal in Sleepy Eye.

The board approval of the contract was a 6-0 vote with board member Renee Nolting absent from that portion of the meeting, Carlson said.

Also included in Carlson’s compensation is an annual $5,000 performance incentive, which is awarded based on the board’s determination of his performance on specific annual goals.

The board also on Monday conducted the first reading of changes to the district’s policy on graduation requirements, which have been substantially changed by the state Legislature. The district administration is also working to integrate college and career readiness objectives into the new policy, which takes effect with this year’s ninth-grade class.

The board also reviewed the district’s performance on the state Multiple Measurement Ratings system, which classified Prairie Woods Elementary as a “reward” school in the top 15 percent of the state. The elementary school was in the 93rd percentile.

Carlson expressed pride in the work by staff and administrators.

“The hard work at the elementary is making a difference for students,” he said.

The district middle school’s rating was 42.3 percent and the high school’s rating was 73.85 percent. Carlson noted that staff and administration are working hard at those levels too, but are also looking for ways to improve performance at the middle and high schools.

Gretchen Schlosser is the public safety reporter, and writes about agriculture occasionally, for the West Central Tribune. She's been with the Tribune since 2006 and has 17 years of experience working in news, media and communications.